Understanding the Links between the Environment, Human Health and Well-Being

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Challenges exist with regard to environmental health, in that there is a critical need to form stronger partnerships between the various agencies and medical specialists in activities that will further the science, education, and health of the community. Following controversial licensing decisions by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2005, a series of meetings was held between the EPA and the Health Service Executive (HSE) in an effort to clarify the different roles of each organisation with respect to the protection of public health. The EPA also had discussions with the Institute of Public Health (IPH) and with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) on a similar theme. Following these meetings, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was agreed and signed by both the HSE and the EPA. Also, in order to advance the area of environment and health, the EPA, through the Environmental Research Centre (ERC), agreed to fund a postdoctoral research fellowship. The results from that fellowship are reported here. Partnerships between the EPA, the HSE and the IPH were developed, with a commitment to work mutually on issues that concerned the organisations and with a collective objective and agenda, creating joint action towards arranged targets. During the 2 years of the fellowship, a number of position papers were produced in cooperation between the HSE and the EPA. Suggested changes to the text contained in the EPA Advice Notes on Current Practice (in the preparation of Environmental Impact Statements) (EISs) was written in cooperation with the IPH, which aims to give more focus to human health when preparing an EIS. Links between the HSE Health Atlas Team and the EPA GIS Team have also been developed. The future of environment and health research within the Irish context was explored through examination of published literature and in consultation with other stakeholders. A detailed case study of the collaborative process employed during the investigation into the presence and influence of lead in the Silvermines area was undertaken through a series of semi-structured interviews with participants of the process.

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Author(s)

Garavan, C. Moles, R.

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Secure Archive For Environmental Research Data

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Understanding the Links between the Environment, Human Health and Well-Being

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Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset This report was primarily a desk study which took place in Ireland and reported directly on Irish experiences. A case study of the collaborative process used following the invocation of the Protocol for the Investigative Approach to Serious Animal/Human Health Problems (EPA and DAFF, 1997) to investigate the presence and influence of lead in the Silvermines area of North Tipperary was undertaken using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods known as triangulation.

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The objective of this environment and health research fellowship was to explore the research needs, national and regional policy options, and practical project initiatives that should be mobilised to deliver better public health through environmental protection functions. The emphasis of this fellowship was on interaction and exchange of information among the main stakeholders such as the EPA, the HSE (Health Service Executive) and the IPH (Insitute of Public Health).

Supplementary Information

A case study of the collaborative process used following the invocation of the Protocol for the Investigative Approach to Serious Animal/Human Health Problems (EPA and DAFF, 1997) to investigate the presence and influence of lead in the Silvermines area of North Tipperary was undertaken using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods known as triangulation. Interaction and exchange of information among the stakeholders involved in Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) licensing and HIA were fostered through a series of face-to-face meetings and telephone and e-mail contact and discussions (see Appendix 2). Interaction and exchange of information among the stakeholders involved in GIS within the EPA and the HSE Health Atlas Team were fostered through face-to-face meetings and telephone and e-mail contact and discussions (see Appendix 2). Published and otherwise available documents relating to environment and health research were collated and explored, coupled with liaison and contact with other agencies involved in similar research activities, in order to make recommendations to the ERC on allocating funding for research projects under the environment and health strand. The role of HBM in Ireland has been followed by continuous liaison with the Expert Team to Support BIOmonitoring in Europe (ESBIO) and the Environmental Health Unit (EHU) at the Department of Health and Children (DOHC). This fellowship drew together a range of relevant literature that addresses ways in which the state of the environment affects human health, and explored the interface between the environment and human health. Emphasis was placed on learning about current field activities to address this connection, as well as to explore emerging issues. In each section of the End of Project Report, relevant literature is first reviewed, conclusions are drawn, and policy implications indicated. However, a strength of the fellowship was in the collaboration established with both the HSE and the IPH, which resulted in achievement of agreement on a template for a set of position papers on issues of mutual interest and concern, as well as the recognition of the need to consider HIA, in addition to EIA, in all spatial planning decisions where an impact on health is predicted. The IPH feedback indicated that the process has been very beneficial to it in generating interest in both training and involvement from government agencies in the HIA process and it plans to continue to work on the process in the coming year.

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